Operating devices for household electrical appliances are known in numerous forms. The great majority of them, as known for instance from EP 1 318 534 A1, are receptacles arranged on, or behind, a control panel, and in which a control element, for instance a rotary knob, is mounted. This may be retractable under certain circumstances. A rotary switch device is arranged behind on the receptacle and is operated through the rotary knob. Openings may be provided in the control panel for optical display purposes, behind which LEDs or other lighting means are arranged. Through this, for instance, an operating state may be displayed on the operating device.